A North Hunterdon High School math teacher was recently named as a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Kathleen Carter was one of 108 to be honored with this prestigious award.
Carter has been teaching for 15 years and has been a teacher at North Hunterdon High School in Annandale, NJ for seven of those years. She has taught seniors, sophomores and freshmen in subjects including Trigonometry, Financial Literacy, Precalculus and Algebra.
Carter received her bachelor’s degree from Drew University with a major in psychology/biology and went on to the University of Massachusetts for her master’s in secondary education, and then DeSales University for an M.Ed in mathematics. This impressive educational background has helped her to hone her teaching career into a success for both her and the students she teaches.
She will receive a paid trip to Washington, D.C. where she will receive a $10,000 award and attend various events that will recognize her achievements and give her the opportunity to meet other individuals like herself.
Carter says she has always had a love for solving problems and she also has other families in the educational system. She says her love of math and ties to education were a natural combination.
Her creative way of teaching has earned her top recognition. She credits her fascination with bridges as part of her teaching foundation. “I start the year by introducing myself as building bridges and having them bring pictures of bridges they’ve solved over the summer,” she said.
The award is humbling to Carter who says that there are plenty of deserving teachers out there who also have passion for teaching math.
Her advice to other math teachers is to always try to engage the students with the content. She points out the vast amounts of technology available today that allows teachers to new ways to keep students engaged and participating.